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Mohammed Yousuf

The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, formally launching the Congress campaign in Hyderabad on Friday. —

M. Somasekhar

Hyderabad, March 20 Will Andhra Pradesh, which has provided the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) MPs and resources to complete its term in office, win big numbers for the country’s oldest party in the coming elections too?

The Congress’s performance in Andhra Pradesh is crucial with the situation becoming fluid for the party, especially the differences with allies and friendly parties over seat-sharing. In the key States of UP and Bihar, the Congress is up against recalcitrant allies. Neither the Samajwadi Party of Mr Mulayam Singh in UP nor the Rashtriya Janata Dal of Mr Lalu Prasad in Bihar is willing to give it the number of seats the Congress thinks is due to it.

Andhra Pradesh, which returned 29 of the Congress’s 145 members in 2004, also happens to be the only large State where the ‘Grand Old Party’ is in real command. Under Dr Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, the State party has stood by the leadership of Dr Manmohan Singh and Ms Sonia Gandhi through the tenure of the 14th Lok Sabha. The State has been a traditional stronghold for the Congress.

The rise in 1983 of the charismatic N. T. Rama Rao not only pushed the Congress out of power in the State, but a year later, in 1984, withstood the powerful ‘sympathy wave’ post the Indira Gandhi assassination. The thespian’s Telugu Desam Party won 39 of the 42 seats to emerge the main Opposition party. Since then, Andhra Pradesh has managed to hold a key position in national politics.

From 1995, when the United Front came to power at the Centre, , till 2004, through the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) rule, the TDP called the shots, though by then the party leadership was taken over by Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, a son-in-law of NTR, in a palace coup.

In 2004, the political fortunes changed and the TDP was trounced by the Congress, led by Dr Rajasekhara Reddy. Yet, the State’s importance did not change as the Congress just about made it as the largest single party in the Lok Sabha with 145 seats.

Andhra Pradesh accounted for 34 of these, with the Congress bagging 29 and its ally the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) five seats. This time round, the TRS no longer with it, the Congress, according to all indications, plans to retain most of the sitting MPs, with some shifting.

While the former Chief Minister, Mr N. Janardhana Reddy, has been moved to the Rajya Sabha, the popular Human Resource Minister and NTR’s daughter, Ms Purandeswari, is expected to be shifted to Visakhapatnam from Bapatla. Mr G. Venkatswamy, seven-time MP and former Union Minister close to former Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao, is opting out in favour of his industrialist son, Vivekanand.

Mr Lagadapati Rajagopal, former Chairman of Lanco Group, is in the race from Vijayawada. The Chief Minister’s son, Mr Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy, is to be fielded from Kadapa.

In the Telangana region, the situation has turned very confusing with the demand for separate Statehood, so successfully evaded by the Rajasekhara Reddy Government, remaining a thorny issue. The Congress; the newly formed ‘Maha Kutami’ consisting of the TDP, the TRS , the CPI(M), and the CPI; actor Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam; the All India Majlis Itehadul Muslimeen; and the BJP have all made various promises to develop the region.

The Rajasekhara Reddy Government, which was able to delay a decision on the issue, has promised many irrigation and development projects for the region and showcased several infrastructure achievements in Hyderabad, the ‘crown jewel’ of the region.

The Congress has had a good run in the State, with good monsoons through the last five years providing adequate work for farm labour. For others, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (NREGP) has ensured some work and money. But allegations of corruption, dynastic politics, the real-estate crash, the Satyam/Maytas scam and the power cuts affecting industry pose problems for it.

The TDP is struggling to get its act together. It has joined hands with the Left parties and Mr K. Chandrasekhara Rao’s TRS but is facing a tough task on sharing seats in Telangana. Mr Chandrababu Naidu, also has a parallel ‘Third Front’ movement going at the Centre, to reclaim the role of a ‘kingmaker’.

In its stronghold of coastal Andhra, which was ‘invaded’ by the Congress in the last elections, the party faces another threat — the growing presence of Chiranjeevi. But compared to the five seats the TDP won in 2004, the party is expected to do much better.

The stage is being set for a multi-cornered contest in Andhra Pradesh, which goes to the polls on April 16 and 23. The Congress could run into rough weather as the opposition campaign gathers momentum and yields ground to coalition politics.

More Stories on : Politics | Politics | Andhra Pradesh

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